Eh… if it is, it’s not part of the Disney movie. Yet the discussion was stifled because nobody could articulate quite why they had such dramatic reactions. In Pinocchio, boys go to Pleasure Island and can do whatever they like. Ah,and pedophilia has a whole(or all)different meaning! He did meet two monsters, he was tied up, and he was threatened with being chopped into firewood. The fox is afraid of being caught but the coachman insists there is no risk. Technically Mister Potter, much like Titanic’s Cal Hockley, had implied defeats the film. “A boy who won’t be good may just as well be made of wood.”. So, saying that they were monsters is a lie because of the connotation and the deception behind it: Pinocchio wants to suggest coercion rather than the embarrassing truth of being tricked. This is how most fairy tales played out in those days. He uses that rather underhanded tactic to try and ruin George Bailey, and in the end, it is the good will that George has showered on his family and friends that saves the day. Good commentary and thorough analysis. The park was owned and operated by The Coachman, who made a fortune from his crooked deeds, and is seen in the film when the Coachman brings Pinocchio, Lampwick and a coachload of other boys to the park. I think they will find a way home to there parents house. Walt Disney is known for making high-grossing animated movies before and after the death of its founder Walt Disney himself. I cried– more than I did during any other Disney film–as a child, later as a teenager, and even now as an adult. You fall into a roller coaster car, and it's pretty obvious that there should be a LOT more safety features. In 1875, he entered the world of children’s literature and used this outlet to transmit his political convictions. I think that’s a very important role that is required for this movie, the world is a tough place to live sometimes but all we can do is roll with the punches and make the best of it. I would wager the entire circus (animal slavery) industry is high up on the scale of villainous activity. It’s an interesting piece of the Disney canon. At the beginning of the first film, we learn of Lord Farquaad’s ban of all fairytale creatures. Only Pinocchio got through the ordeal. I was just talking about the undertones in this movie to my wife, did not know if I was the only one who thought this way. Once a boy is abused by a pedophile, they are no longer boys in the sense that their innocence has been violated. 39 thoughts on “ Disturbing Disney #2: The truth of Pleasure Island in Pinocchio (1940) ” movierob March 9, 2017 at 2:10 pm. You honestly don’t call that distinguished or successful? Is the World Ready for an LGBTQ Disney Princess (or Prince)? Acting is not a distinguished career no matter how much press they get. Honest John tricks Pinocchio… twice, Stromboli imprisons Pinoke, and The Coachman transforms boys into donkeys and sells them. The story of the Metamorphoses bears many resemblances with Pinocchio by its story line, its spiritual allegory and its theme of occult initiation. I haven’t seen Maleficent yet but the idea does somewhat bother me. Pinocchio has every intention of going to school. The best way to hide something dark is to coat it with something dark. Netflix’s The White Tiger Trailer: Create Your Own Fate, The Complex Lessons of Environmentally-Motivated Animation, Samurai Jack: Exploring the Newfound Maturity. Pinocchio goes to Pleasure Island with Lampwick, a place with "no school, no cops" and it's all free. I never read the book. Thus far, the movie has been fine. Not one of them sees any retribution. The fairy, who told Pinocchio not to lie, lied. She is the definition of a Deus ex Machina. I didn’t need/want to know why she is evil. Pinocchio can live. However, I didn’t see any evidence that the coachman was a pedophile. These lines hold, from the beginning till the end as the most important and oft-spoken lines in the movie. which is also for adults, yet kids will enjoy too but in their own way- a much less understanding of why. ... in a red suit spills piles of gold provided Honest John gets him ‘stupid little boys’ to take to a place called ‘Pleasure Island,’ a place John implies is illegal, fearing the law might come after them. The ones who still speak like that poor little Alexander (the one donkey in all of fiction that probably wrenches hearts just thinking about him), are unaccounted for. And there are plenty of people in the world, such as the Coachman, who will take advantage of that.”. The circus exploiting him..the people making fun. Now obviously all this what happened to Pinocchio was all ‘worst case scenario’ BUT it sort of prepares one for life on these things can happen. I know on the IAWL board, there are threads that pop up wondering why Potter never received punishment. We’re all miserable because Disney only ever had a character fall into an eternal sleep to be awakened by true love’s first kiss. The rest… they are put to work like slaves and those who have even the capability to protest the conditions they are put in are silenced. I have friends who didn’t see the Hunchback till later too. (Though in all honesty, the real lie was when he said Jiminy was tied too.) This is what leads us to the first lie of the movie and ironically it is not told by Pinocchio. Usually the bad guy always gets it in the end. Pleasure Island is an amusement park where kids can do whatever they want. where most of the villains aren’t so bad (the “Mangiafuoco” = Stromboli, and a big shark instead of a whale) or are punished at the end (the fox and the cat, that finish their life in illness and misery), and where there aren’t any alcohol, tobacco or illicit behaviors in the land of toys / Pleasure Island (there are only toys). Gepetto is a weirdo and people probably know that. Just today, I realized the whole pediphile thing going on and had to go online and see if others saw it too and came accross your article. Many pedophiles never act on and go to great difficulties to overcome these attractions, and must face the status of assumed child molester that misuses of the term exactly like this create for them. “It’s a Wonderful Life” also follows the same aesthetic with mean old Mr. Potter. 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Thank you for that. “This isn’t what Disney is about.” If my student said that, I would’ve told him, or her to watch ” The Watcher in the woods.”. Personally, I never thought much of Pinocchio, but perhaps if I saw it again I could somehow appreciate the dark parts for being faithful to the dark nature of classic children’s stories a la the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christen Anderson. I do find these types of discussions quite stimulating though. his voter base, his Administration, the Republican Congress and the, soon to swing radically to the right, SCOTUS. That movie, for its lesson, tells a whole pack of truths to an extent it hurts. https://disneyvillains.fandom.com/wiki/Pleasure_Island?oldid=132095. The boy who was scarred from an experience was given a release from it and the movie seems set to take a tragic turn for the worst. Then I realized that they all must have had family too. Images and media related to Pleasure Island. In Pinocchio, the truth does hurt and partly because its messages are not implicit at all. Was this in fact the last time the fairy helped and served as the solution to all problems? Yes, but see I’m speaking mainly about Disney films. It is never explicitly stated it was in fact her but it can be no one else. Talk about dark; what about when Bambi’s mother is killed. The main point of the film is Pinocchio’s coming of age, learning from mistakes, saving his master, and finally becoming a boy. I think the Coachman’s comeuppance is that he eventually runs out of stupid little boys for his racket. Even though, Disney is known for bright and cheerful movies, Disney is no stranger to the dark side. Every character is a perfect rapresentation to show better the moral of the story. When Honest John takes Pinocchio the second time around, I actually saw that as a kidnap. Powerful and revelatory excavation into the depth of the human condition, as only a master story teller could reveal guised as a fairytale. It operates independently with the writers collaboratively building and maintaining the platform. Yeah but think about it this way the story was not about defeating evil it was about staying away from it or if you do indulge in it consequences will follow. So whereas the other antagonists in the film are either reformed (The Beast), killed (Gaston), or driven back (the villagers, the wolves), Monsieur D’Arque gets off scot-free. Now I have a much better understanding why. Exactly my point. The Internet is a Golden Corral for these theories and we eat them up like it’s a weekday special. You can hear it briefly in Tobacco Row sequence,in Pleasure Island. I was always sensitive, and the thought of those boys, suddenly repentent and weeping “I want my momma!” just cut me to the heart. Guests enter to find Pinocchio, holding the bloody and broken Blue Fairy in a closet, where she begs for mercy. They waste unique than rare chances and they wear the same ripped and ruined clothes. I envy your participation in such a discussion. I taught a Disney Films class last year and my students (18-adult) HATED Pinocchio and Dumbo with equal vigor. That’s just the trouble with the world today.”. you know just like how kids do when they get in trouble they will try to blame their friend or the other guy, but they will learn quick they cannot do this and cannot snitch, for if they don’t learn to take responsibility as children they will have a hell of a time as adults. I never noticed them myself until the last time I watched it about 3-4 years ago. On its surface, Pleasure Island seemed like any other amusement park, except that it was one where the young boys brought there by the Coachman were encouraged to behave badly. She thus far served as the solution to two problems: She gave Pinocchio life and freed him from the cage/sack he was so clearly trapped in. As he sits on the beach, recovering from his painful ordeal, he gets a message from a dove sent by none other than the Blue Fairy. He even gets rid of the ones who can talk, those who inexplicably still retain the power of speech such as Alexander, and only God knows what happens to them. There are two possible meanings to these words. Good point. The funny thing about Pinocchio is that I didn’t see it until I was in my late teens despite having been in a production of Pinocchio (not the Disney version, but an adaptation of the story. When I was little this movie I always blamed Gepetto for not going back and saving all the other boys who had been turned into donkeys. (I’m sorry for my English LOL). His growing nose makes it so that he cannot hide. I never quite noticed how awful the people around Pinocchio were. Or are they? I have a real history with Pinocchio and I love the movie dearly. I could compare it with a (softer) scene of Dumbo, when the baby elephant becomes sick and delirious after drinking a bucket of champagne. But yes, the pleasure island sequence has often stuck out in my mind. People see these things, yet continue to let their children watch. This was not one that would have popped into my head until now. Interestingly enough, it was my brother who pointed the pedophilia thing out but it took much more expansion than the Pleasure Island thing. And Disney is trying to teach little boys (and girls) the lesson of life AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY for your own actions and not blame others, but be accountable. And what he did is pretty terrible and tragic. When Pinocchio lies about why he didn’t go to school, I think he does it to get out of trouble. How can Pinocchio be faulted for any of his choices when the Blue Fairy did not provide him with the tools he needed to make those choices. They’re portrayed as bad things to do and if anything influenced me to be a good boy myself, lol. Pleasure Island was a cursed amusement park seen in Pinocchio.The park was owned and operated by The Coachman, who made a fortune from his crooked deeds, and is seen in the film when the Coachman brings Pinocchio, Lampwick and a coachload of other boys to the park. Stromboli’s next show presumably flops without his star attraction. The one who promised she would never help him again. follow your gut instinct, if something doesn’t feel right (Honest john, Stromboli, The Coachmen) etc, then it probably isn’t.. since Pinocchio didn’t have parents to upbring him with values, morals, etc. its been too long apparently since Ive seen this, but ur descriptions really help. As for the ones who could still talk, I had thought- although I could be wrong- that he was just holding them there until they, too, lost their ability to speak. I never noticed the dark elements depicted in the film, but I’m glad you pointed them out! Great article by the way, I really enjoyed reading it , **I meant to say Pinocchio tries to blame Honest John and Stromboli to the blue Fairy.. sure they WERE monsters, but he was sort of saying nothing was his fault so he was lying and his nose grew. So Disney got better at it (you still have to watch em) and you the viewer are better for it. It brings to mind Spring Breakers, which had a slightly more adult take on the pleasures and perversions of Pleasure Island. Pinocchio isn’t the only film that has the villain not getting his comeuppance. It certainly was not the entrapped Gepetto and the dove was glowing white which reminds us of a heavenly figure. This is just sad. Screenfice covers the latest Film & TV news. You'd have to be born yesterday to think that a place named "Pleasure Island" would be anything but extremely sleazy.. It’s funny how that’s where he drew the line when so many other Disney films have equally dark elements. It suggests the boys became donkey's and went to different parts of the world. That part is really disturbing. We do not know what happens to them. Looking forward to your reply! Just watched Pinocchio today and I totally agree with your assessment here- our grandparents read stories whose message was solely, “stay away” and “your decisions have “real serious consequences”. The Darker Corners of Pinocchio Not as welcoming as it looks. I guess as a kid I wouldn’t catch the almost blatant meaning, but I am amazed that this scene is in a child’s movie. Therefore, this theory has it that Donkey was once a boy who was sent off to this very island and turned into a donkey. Pink bonnet? I just watched it finally again: Wow, it’s really powerful! Luring them with treats is characteristic of pedophiles, yes, but in this context it seems it was simply to turn them into donkeys so he could sell them. Not for everyone. People do not listen to their conscience, the vast majority of humans in the movie are terrible, even kids Pinocchio’s own age go astray, and Pinocchio is nonetheless asked to become the lone light in a sea of darkness. Can you draw any similar parallels. I watched this movie for the first time since my childhood and man, so many implicit dark meanings you only understand as an adult. Otherwise, the truth the viewer must face is too terrible. They were lies nonetheless told by either Pinocchio or the movie itself. This article is fascinating to me… I think with how long its been since I last watched Pinocchio I’ve managed to iron out the details into much brighter things in my head. But the strengths… beautifully animated, with great opportunities for wonderful artwork: Gepetto’s workshop, the village, Pleasure Island, and the underwater scenes are quite beautiful. Labeled by the movie as one of the ‘stupid little boys’ the Coachman was after, Pinocchio takes him up on the offer. But the Coachman insists there is no risk because…. Good essay, but I suggest you be more accurate when referring to things such as ‘pedophilia’. I tried watching this movie as a teen, years ago. This was perceived as a lie, of course but the audience knows better. A plump man in a red suit spills piles of gold provided Honest John gets him ‘stupid little boys’ to take to a place called ‘Pleasure Island,’ a place John implies is illegal, fearing the law might come after them. Kids can do whatever they want decline health-wise and in this one ), but Pinocchio wasn ’ see! May be got away with it ‘shrek 2’Let’s peel back all the '. 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